Return of the Fangirl
by starlit-pancake
Summary: When a girl dies, she never expects to awaken in the universe of Kingdom Hearts. But now that she's here, she might as well start driving the other characters crazy. After all, no one wants to live a boring life twice. Set during KH2, mainly follows canon. No pairings. Title pending.
1. Prologue

Summary: When a girl dies, she never expects to awaken in the universe of Kingdom Hearts. But now that she's here, she might as well start driving the other characters crazy. After all, no one wants to live a boring life twice. Set during KH2, follows canon. No pairings.

A/N: yeah, yeah. I know this idea is pretty cliché, but this plot bunny wouldn't get out of my head. Might as well put it up. And, this OC will NOT be a keyblade wielder. Arceus knows how much_ that_ idea has been used.

**Return of the Fangirl**

Prologue

For those of you who are curious about death, let me tell you, dying _stinks._ My life had been pretty boring; school, sleep, homework, and Kingdom Hearts otaku-ness pretty much summed my 15 years of life. Such a shame, too. Now I'd never get to play through Kingdom Hearts III.

On to my death. It had been a normal day, walking to school, until BAM, stupid truck comes barreling in. Although I was quite athletic, I wasn't able to get out of the way in time. I remember the searing pain, the burning across my right eye (where _something_ had skimmed over; I didn't know what, just the sensation of my eye being slashed), and it was all over. Just like that. As everything went white, the last thought to cross my mind had been, _shit_.

Ssss~lll~zzzZ

I woke up. Miraculously. Until I realized that there was a face, just hovering about an inch or two away from mine. And like any sane person, I screamed.

A/N: tell me what you guys think! That little 'review' button down below could use some love.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I gave a start when I saw whose face it was. It was Aerith. I blinked. This couldn't be possible. Or so I thought.

"Is this the afterlife?" I asked, trying to shake off the grogginess I was feeling.

"No, silly. You're in Hollow Bastion", she replied.

My eye widened. This must've been a dream come true. Instead of winding up wherever dead people go, I was in the universe of _Kingdom Hearts, _just like those other stories I'd seen on Fanfiction. This was a chance to change my life. Or what was left of it, anyway. I made it a mission to make this life better than the last. Then Aerith spoke up again, startling me out of my reverie.

"I'm Aerith. My, that's quite a nasty scar you've got over your eye. Come with me; it might get infected. We don't want that happening." Aerith smiled. "You can tell us more about yourself after it gets treated."

Everything came rushing back to me. The truck, the pain. I unconsciously ran a finger over my right eyelid. Sure enough, a scar was there. I then cracked it open, and found that my vision was working fine, albeit blurry. Thank god, I did not want to be another Xigbar. Then I realized something. She had said, "we". I was going to meet the rest of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Boy, was this going to be fun. Maybe I could get Yuffie to teach me to fight, and Merlin to teach me magic. Lord knows how much I enjoyed using the Balloonra spell in the games. It would be epic. So totally, utterly epic.

All of this went through my head as I followed Aerith to a dinky little building. _Merlin's place, _I saw. Lady Luck was certainly smiling upon me, as a certain British gambler Nobody would say. I could already see myself firing colorful balloons at everyone. But then I remembered about getting my eye cleaned up. I looked ahead, and was startled by what I saw. It was Aerith, carrying a bottle of what I sincerely hoped was not antiseptic. I had always hated that stuff. Holding that bottle, Aerith suddenly didn't look as angelic as I always thought she did.

"Come on now, it won't sting much. I'm a certified medic, if that's what you're worried about", she said.

I shrank back in horror. Had I looked more closely at the bottle, I would've noticed that it was a potion. Oh, the dignity I could've saved.

Ssss~lll~zzzZ

When Aerith finished, I was shaking in what must've been shame. There I was, shaking in my boots (sneakers, actually. But you get what I mean), as the potion-soaked cloth came closer to my face. It didn't hurt. Potions actually felt good. I was surprised about that; I'd always assumed that they tasted horrible, like medicine. Anyway, I was sporting a (temporary) eyepatch over my right eye when Merlin poofed into view, followed by Leon and the rest of the gang (the door remained unlocked).

"Why, hello, Aerith", he then turned to me. "and who's this young lady?" I jumped at the chance to introduce myself and learn magic, ignoring the suspicious look Leon was sending me. Eyepatches weren't in fashion, it seemed.

"I'm-" Yuffie interrupted me before I could start.

"Hi! Who are you? I'm the Great Ninja, Yuffie! Nice to meet you!" I had to smile at that. She was just like I remembered, ridiculously cheerful and possibly (and permanently) high on sugar.

"As I was saying, (at this I shot a pointed look at Yuffie; she shrugged half-apologetically) my name's Rien, I'm 15, and before you ask, yes, I am from another world, and no, I have no idea how I got here." No way was I going to tell them about my death. Couldn't start off looking like a psycho if I wanted them to take me under their wings. Yuffie then came in again.

"Nice to meetcha! Can she stay with us?" Yuffie asked in her hyperactive manner. Guess she must've been bored without any other girls near her age. My visible brown eye lit up. This was the perfect chance. I spoke up.

"Sure. Do you guys work together or something?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "If so, sign me up!" I practically invited myself in. Yuffie looked like she was going to positively burst with joy. Yuffie and I then turned to them with what I hoped was a puppy-dog look in our eyes. "Pretty please? With a cherry on top?" Merlin and Aerith chuckled, Leon looked a little less distrustful (quit the moping-I was so going to teach him the value of the meaning of life, I decided. Food.), and Cid was nowhere to be seen. We took that as a yes.

"Yay! I'm gonna introduce you to everyone!" And she rattled on and on about everyone (though I already knew them all) and everything here as she dragged me out the door. As we went on, I soon found out that Hollow Bastion was bigger than I thought it had been. I instantly started regretting that I hadn't taken the time to fully explore the accessible areas in the games. Yuffie, thankfully, didn't rush on ahead and led me into _the _castle. The very same castle Ansem and his apprentices (little Ienzo,too-the little guy was just so adorable) had lived in. The same castle that Lea and Isa had broken into, only to be thrown out by the guards (cough cough, Dilan). The same castle four of the apprentices and Lea would wake up at later on. I was already having a hard time restraining my inner fangirl.

We came to a stop in Ansem's computer room, where Cid was furiously mashing his fingers against the keyboard, toothpick in mouth. I figured that he was still working on the Defense Mechanism. This must be some point in time nearing the end of the 358/2 Days plotline. Such a shame, I'd have liked to meet Xion, if she hadn't already faded. After a while, Cid seemed to have finally notice our presence.

"'ey, Yuffie. Who's the kid?"

"This is Rien! She's gonna help us fight the heartless!" Already? I couldn't even fight yet. Oops.

"Umm, yeah, but-" Cid cut me off.

"Great! We need you two on patrol here!" Cid whipped out a map, and pointed to a spot by what I think was the Marketplace. "People ain't gonna wanna be in danger!"

"Okay! Let's go!" Yuffie then proceeded to drag me off.

"But- But-" I spluttered. My inner fangirl had yet to be appeased. There was just so much more I had to check out.

Before I knew it, we were back outside. Dang, Yuffie really did live up to her self-given title. I had always considered myself to be quite athetic and yet here I was, totally out of breath. Yuffie hadn't even broken a sweat. She then (surprisingly) gave a good explanation of our job on patrol. I thought about my lack of skill and shuddered. I'd have to get Merlin to help, quick. Unfortunately, it seemed that finding Merlin wasn't an option right now. I heard a sharp _cling,_ as Yuffie took out that oversized shuriken of hers.

Right there, in front of us, was a group of Pureblood heartless. Mere shadows, but as of now, I lacked a weapon and skill. I adopted an awkward stance, hoping that it at least looked cool. All the keybladers and Orgy members I had seen in the games had a cool fighting stance. But I didn't have time to think about it. The heartless drew back and leaped at us.

A/N: I picked "Rien" as a name because it was pretty much the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking about a name I haven't seen yet in fanfics.

And, if I get any canon details wrong or characters are OOC, drop a review! I'm a stickler for canon. And yes, I count the novels as canon, though I haven't found a complete translation for some of them. r&r!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: thanks to those of you who viewed this story! And, if I get any canon facts wrong, be sure to drop a review/PM. And. The Tokyo Game Show. I'm already hyped up for KH3 and FFXV's appearances, if they make any.

Disclaimer: is this really necessary? It's pretty obvious as to who owns what.

**Chapter 2**

Everything seemed to slow down as the heartless charged at me. My senses sharpened, and I could see every tiny movement more clearly. So this was adrenaline rush. I had to admit, it felt pretty awesome. No wonder the Uchiha clan from _Naruto _were so stuck-up. If this was what a basic adrenaline rush felt like, then I could only imagine what a Sharingan eye would've been like. I then snapped my attention back to the heartless. As it neared, I suddenly realized that these 'mere shadows' were a lot scarier than they looked. My pulse quickened. The pounding of my heart grew louder, so loud, in fact, I was almost sure that Yuffie, who was only fighting about five feet away, would be able to hear it. Even with the adrenaline to temporarily boost my movements, I found that I was too frozen with fear to move. It was like my body had fallen asleep on my brain, which was currently screaming at me to _move, move! _The fact that I was currently visually impaired on my right side didn't help, either. Aerith had mentioned that it would be a while before I could open my right eye without opening up the scar. Damn. I wondered why I hadn't asked her to simply use a Cure spell on it. At this, I mentally facepalmed. Thankfully, Yuffie seemed to have taken this into account and was taking care of the shadows vying for my blind side in a badass fashion. Soon enough, a heartless made it inside my personal space. My body moved sluggishly as I made to avoid it (at this point my brain had resorted to mentally slapping myself). I had narrowly missed a potentially lethal hit, though I had not come out unscathed. Where its claws had scraped against my shoulders, three long tears on my jacket had been made. Sugar-Honey-Ice-Tea. I had rather liked this jacket. Now I was determined to avenge my jacket. But then I noticed that something about the blow had felt strange.

As soon as the shadow had landed a glancing blow to my shoulder, its touch stirred something from within me. I suddenly became aware of an ethereal energy, flowing throughout my body. It was like I had instantly developed a chakra system like the ninjas from Naruto had, though I knew it wasn't. Magic, I realized. I could practically feel the power flowing through me, begging to be used. Heck yes. I then envisioned the energy flowing through my hands, heating up the air particles around it. "Fire!" I shouted thrusting my palms out Lucario-style, and sure enough, a mid-sized fireball shot out from between my hands and flew towards the heartless that had hit me. The shadow dispersed. As I took out more and more, the fear I had been feeling earlier disappeared and the effects of the adrenaline rush wore off.

Ssss~lll~zzzZ

I was feeling proud. Like I could take on anything, and come out alive. Like I could take out the Ruler of the Sky in one try. Like I could defeat Xaldin without Mickey's help. Only god/kingdom hearts/the lord/Arceus knew how many times I had been game-overed by them. We then made our way over to Merlin's house. Merlin wasn't there. Off looking for Cloud, probably.

"How's the newbie doin'?" Cid was the first to interrogate us, unsurprisingly. He said this while typing on a computer.

"I _am_ in one piece. I think you can answer that yourself." At this point, I was practically radiating self-worship and pride. "Not a scratch on me!" I added, 'conveniently' neglecting to mention that Yuffie had given me a potion earlier and that I had tied my torn-up jacket around my waist to hide the rips. I would have to go shopping later. If Yuffie noticed, she didn't say anything. Guess she was just as proud, too. Even though she had already given herself a title. Wait. A title. I would have to get myself one, too.

"Hmph. Not bad. Ya didn't look like much when I saw you earlier", he said, and went back to his typing. Leon just gave me what I was hoping was an approving look. I beamed. Aerith smiled. Which reminded me.

"Hey, Aerith, how much longer am I gonna have to wear this thing, anyway?" I fiddled with my eyepatch. The sooner it was off me, the better. With my messy black hair and a scar running down my right eye, I looked like a pirate-wannabe. I soon banished that thought from my head. It was Xigbar's job to be the pirate-wannabe, not mine. At least my eye hadn't been hit by a glob of darkness. That would've sucked.

"Just about a few more days, I think. The potion should speed up the process" she then saw the state my hair was in and whipped out a hairbrush. From out of NOWHERE. I gulped, and slowly backed away. My rays of awesomeness were quickly fading. I even forgot about the fact that I had successfully used magic as my eye locked on to the hairbrush, silently willing it to disappear. It didn't. I had always hated brushing my hair. There was no way I was going to get my hair fixed now. Yuffie should still be here. She would save me. She had to. But there was a problem. Yuffie appeared to have ran off again. No wonder she hadn't commented on my well-being. Once again, I found myself cursing her ridiculous amount of energy. Leon was watching with what I hoped was NOT amusement, and Cid was preoccupied with his typing. I was stuck. Uh-oh. Aerith chuckled and slowly advanced towards me, hairbrush in hand, as I backed off. I focused too much attention the brush, however, and failed to notice that I had backed into someone.

That someone turned out to be none other than Sora.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was Sora. _Sora._ Along with Donald and Goofy, Yuffie leading them in.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" She said, cheerily. I momentarily focused my attention on her.

"You ditched me. You left me to fend for myself. Do you have _any _idea what I was about to go through?" I glared at her, gesturing towards Aerith. Aerith stopped her advance and pocketed (she had pockets?) the brush. I inwardly sighed in relief. Yuffie shrugged half-apologetically.

"Um...did I interrupt something?" Sora asked. My inner fangirl surfaced. I was talking to Sora. _The _Sora. Suppressing my grin was getting harder by the minute.

"No. We'll deal with it later. I'm Rien, by the way. Nice to meetcha." His face instantly lit up, and even better, he payed no attention to my eyepatch. Guess he loved to meet new people. At this, I let my grin break out. No point in suppressing my inner fangirl anymore. The others then began to greet him.

"We missed you!" Aerith was the first.

"Well,if you ain't in top shape." Cid came next.

"I knew it." Short response from Leon. It wasn't as if we were expecting a long speech from him, anyway.

"Knew what?" Sora questioned, with a look of mild confusion written on his face. I knew where this conversation was going.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." Hm. Guess Leon was just feeling wordier than usual today. His words startled Sora, as Sora and his gang took a step back in shock.

"You...remembered? Wait, does that mean you forgot about us?!" Sora looked quite offended.

"Thanks!" Donald chimed. He and Goofy shared the same expression Sora wore on his face.

"So where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie cut in. Goofy answered that question.

"We were sleeping." I couldn't resist the urge to snicker. Goofy's voice had always been rather... interesting. No one heard me, thankfully. That would've been awkward.

"Where? In the cold storage?" Cid inquired with a hint of skepticism, gesturing with his hands. Now that I think about it, I remember a line from the first Kingdom Hearts game going something like this: "Sora, I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." I wouldn't have been surprised if he actually was able to sleep in the 'cold storage', as Cid put it. Sora scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner (my inner fangirl was quieting down; I was a much bigger fan of the Organization). Aerith broke the silence.

"It doesn't matter. This is great! Everyone's together again!" It was hard to believe that she could be scary one minute and angelic the next. And of course, I already had an idea about what Sora's next question would be.

"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Knew it. Leon, Cid, and Aerith all shook their heads. Sora continued, with a serious look in his eyes. "Right."

"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" I was seriously starting to forget about the hairbrush.

"Ok. Thanks." He nodded, now wearing a dejected expression. This kid had an endless amount of faces. Cid then jumped out at him.

"Don't go thankin' us just yet." Leon then spoke up.

"Hollow Bastion has a problem. A big problem." At this, Sora's eyes noticeably sharpened.

"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?"

"That's right!" Yuffie.

"Sounds like you could use our help." Sora.

"Then let's cut to the chase." Leon then walked over and came to a stop in front of them.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here. We obviously do not have enough." That last statement had been partially directed at me. I shot him an indignant glare, and toyed with the thought of setting his hair on fire. But I decided against it. For now.

As expected, Sora was up to the task. He gave his chest a thump. "Like I'm gonna say no?"

"You just did", I muttered, not wanting to spoil the mood. Leon smirked (I fancied the thought of burning away that smug expression once again).

"...I forgot who I'm dealing with." No shiz, sherlock. You all did. Donald took offense to that.

"Hey...what do you mean by that?" quacked he. A snicker threatened to make its way out of my mouth. Disney had chosen from an interesting variety of voice actors, it seemed.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment'." Aerith amended. Leon then made his way over to the door, cracked it open.

"Follow me to the Bailey-there's something you need to see." And he walked right out. As soon as he left, Merlin popped in. Literally.

"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!"

"It's Merlin!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked up to him.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie stated.

"Splendid! We can count on you!"

"Right!" Sora was as confident as ever. Merlin then appeared to have remembered something.

"Ah, yes. Did you give them their cards yet, dear?" He said to Aerith.

"Oh!" After a search through her pockets (where I now knew she was keeping a brush), she came up with some cards in her hand. She then extended them out to Sora and co. "Here... they're presents for you. Leon though you might like to have them." Wait. I hadn't gotten one yet. So I narrowed my eyes at her. "Oh, and one for you too. Sorry, I forgot." I gladly accepted mine and nodded in satisfaction. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, were excited at the prospect of these membership cards.

"Hey, thanks, Leahhh...huh?" Sora turned to the doorway, finally taking notice of the fact that Leon had already set out. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the Bailey!" Before we (yes, I decided to go with him. I made this pretty clear. He didn't mind.) left, Merlin stopped us to make a brief inquiry about our magic. I demonstrated a mini-Aero spell, using it to toss my membership card up into the air before catching and pocketing it. Sora appeared to have forgotten (the sheepish grin came back), so Merlin gave him a quick crash course and gave me a couple tips. After that, we finally set out. I couldn't wait for our first meeting with the Organization.

A/N: thanks to those of you who are following this story!


	5. Chapter 4

9/23/13: This will be on a short, brief, TEMPORARY hiatus. About a week or 2, or maybe even earlier. I'm having issues with my email being hacked and I got school projects to do.

Sorry for the A/N update/false (update) alarm.

A/N: Again, thanks to those of you who faved/are following this story! It's quite motivational, really.

**Chapter 4**

It was taking quite a while to catch up to Leon. Everywhere we went, heartless sprang up and attacked us. Although it was annoying (but not as bothersome as it is in Pokémon in the tall grass), it made for an excellent opportunity to test out my magic. A soldier heartless then popped up. I grinned Larxene-style, that is to say, sadistically. Rushing forward, I focused magic around my palms (yeah, Lucario's fighting style appealed to me that much) and pulsed out the energy as soon as they came into contact with the heartless. The soldier went flying back, where it collided into a well-timed slash from Sora's Kingdom Key. I then stood back and attacked from the background, allowing Sora to do most of the work and finish them off. His skill with the keyblade was amazing. It was like he had superhuman abilities, the way he bounded this way and that in seconds.

But then again, pretty much everyone had these ridiculously awesome abilities. I mean, hello? Roxas, running up a skyscraper and jumping back down to land perfectly? Riku hurling himself over Memory's Skyscraper in a blindfold, meanwhile perfectly intercepting an attack and then touching down to the ground without a scratch? Kairi, who hadn't had any training (yet), jumping over and off a high ledge to get to Sora in the Castle that Never Was? Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised if even Naminé could run up a building. I'd have to find out the secret, I decided.

My magic was getting better and better. I could now cast Fira and Aerora, but I had trouble with Thunder. It was difficult to mold my magic into both positive and negative energy, and even harder to set it off. Each time I tried, I had ended up casting a Magnet spell. It wasn't pretty. Hollow Bastion was full of old chunks of debris with iron in them. Donald had quacked angrily at me when said chunk of debris had slammed into him as it was being drawn towards my spell. My bad. He then proceeded to show me how a _real _Thunder spell was done, in his words. So now, my hair was sticking up, brimming with static. On the plus side, I had finally managed a weak Thunder after Donald's little "demonstration". On the other hand, I would now have to face Aerith and her hairbrush upon my return. I inwardly shuddered at that thought.

The last of the heartless faded, accompanied with hearts flying up into the sky (_up, up, and awaaayyy!,_ I thought. Wasn't sure where that came from). We were finally at the Bailey. Leon was waiting for us.

"Look at that." He gestured to the castle, which had great spires/turrets protruding from the area around it. "We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows-maybe something even better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything-except...for that...and that." He pointed to a duo of dusks, sauntering towards the castle on the distance. My inner fangirl cheered. The fact that there were dusks around meant that the Organization was near.

"We'll handle them", said Sora, thumping his chest confidently.

"Well, that's good to hear." Leon turned towards Sora. "So Sora-do you know what's going on, then?"

"There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the heartless." Sora then added, "but he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies."

"And those Organization XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy said. Then, a very familiar voice that I immediately recognized was heard.

"You called?" Leon, Sora, Donald, and Goofy gave a start. My inner fangirl squealed. It was the Moon Man. "You're doing well." This was said as Sora and co. and I ran out to greet them. Well, I was doing the 'greeting' part. Sora was looking around for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?!" Sora had summoned his keyblade.

"This calls for a celebration." A deep baritone this time. My inner fangirl was hyperventilating. Xemnas. Also known as Lord Mansex. I sniggered, before running out to join Leon and Sora to eliminate the dusks Xem-Mansex had summoned to attack the gate. Another snicker escaped my mouth as I made my way over to them.

I fired an Aero spell at the first Dusk to charge me, sending it airborne, where Sora made quick work of it. I then focused energy into my palms, just as I had done earlier today and thrust them into the nearest Dusk. This time, I had loaded my hands with enough energy to dispatch it. A gunshot then came flying over my shoulder, just barely missing me. Leon's gunblade. I shot him a glare, and sent a Fire spell at another Dusk that conveniently happened to be right behind him. It hit its mark, but not before grazing the tip of Leon's hair. I smirked, reveling in my small victory as he cursed and tucked into a roll to get rid of the fire that threatened to burn all his hair off. The small flame had left his hair cut unevenly, singed at the tips. At least I wouldn't be the only one getting a hair job from Aerith. He then sent me a look that promised revenge and doom before getting back into the fight. I then turned back to my own battle.

After we had taken out a fraction of the dusks (the Defense Mechanism Cid set up was helpful-Dusks that had been thrown upwards made for some good target practice), Samurai nobodies began to appear. I'd have to be more careful. My jacket had sustained another tear from when I hadn't moved out of a barrelling Dusk's way fast enough. _Do a barrel-roll,_ I had thought absentmindedly. Sora was faring well; he was pretty much unscathed save for one small scratch on his cheek that he had gotten from a poorly-executed dodge roll. Instead of rolling behind a Dusk and into an open area where he could've launched a powerful counterattack, he had rolled into the wall. I had briefly applauded him before resuming my own fight.

Turning towards the nearest Samurai, I ducked down and aimed a Blizzard spell at its feet, effectively freezing it in place. Remembering that frozen foes took extra damage, I took the time to practice my Thunder spells on it. I succeeded in getting two Thunder spells in, the others having winded up as a Magnet spell. The Magnet spell worked in my favor this time; it had drawn other dusks into a center point, where the center point then imploded on them, taking care of them as well. At least there hadn't been any iron chunks here. That would've made things more dangerous, and I was also not willing to navigate a potential obstacle course to win. After dispatching the frozen Samurai, I scouted the area for a weakened enemy to experiment a new move I wanted to test out, shooting random bursts of magic as I did so to help out Sora and Leon. When I finally found one, I charged at it. Instead of focusing magical energy into my hands as I had done previously, I focused it into my feet, and pushed off the ground when I got close enough to the Dusk. Then, I planted my feet on it, and pulsed out another wave of energy through my feet. I was sent flying backwards, where I tucked myself into a ball as if I were doing a somersault backwards and flipped, landing on my feet. The dusk had faded. I cheered. My new move had worked. My skills in combat were already seeing a huge improvement. On top of that, I had finally figured out everyone's secret to their superhuman abilities. They simply channnelled magic through their feet, where the pulses of energy gave them a speed boost. Roxas, when he had been running up Memory's Skyscraper, had just used this nifty trick to bring his running speed high enough to temporarily defy gravity. As for jumping off the tower and landing unharmed, Riku and Roxas had most likely just reinforced the soles of their feet with their magic to absorb the impact. This also enabled them to jump higher, I realized. But that brought up another question. If they could do all that, then why couldn't they use it to strengthen their muscles like Sakura and Tsunade from _Naruto_ could? I made it a point to ask Merlin about it later. I then put my focus back into the fight.

Wheeling around, I spun in a circle, dragging out an Aero spell as I did so. This way, the winds forming the Aero spell would spread far apart enough to create separate blades of wind. The lesser nobodies surrounding me dispersed, where they were quickly finished off by Leon and Sora. It was finally over. I followed Sora out of the building, where Lord Mansex's (and yet another snicker from me) voice came drifting out to us.

"The Keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands." Empty laughs followed that statement. I immediately picked out Demyx's laugh. The pitch of his voice was higher than the rest. It wouldn't have been surprising if his evil laugh sucked, too.

"Show yourselves!" Sora shouted; I remained silent, hoping to keep control of my inner fangirl. And they did. Lord Mansex materialized a the top of another ledge. Then, he slowly raised his arms in an overly dramatic gesture; Donald and Goofy came running over to us aa this happened. Soon enough, the other remaining members portalled in to join their leader.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy exclaimed. Sora narrowed his eyes. I was finding it harder to keep my grin under control. He turned to Donald and Goofy, who nodded in confirmation.

"Good. Now we can settle this!" Sora. I doubted he could take on all of them at once.

"What a shame. And here I thought we could be friends." More empty laughs. Demyx seriously needed to work on his. At this point, I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt the need to mock Xigbar.

"Friends? As if. Maybe that's why you all felt the need to eliminate _him._ Last I checked, _friends _do not all kill eachother, 'ts all I'm saying." It was out of my mouth before I knew it. Whether or not they caught the cryptic references, I didn't know. All six pairs of eyes were on me, Number II's in particular. I gulped. Yolo. Then they all portalled out, save for one who I instinctively knew was Xigbar. He got in our way.

"Hey! What's the big idea!" Donald demanded.

"Oopsy-Daisy!" This was accompanied by more hand gestures.

"Move!" Sora was serious now. I was now trying to suppress snickers. I think I deserve an award for this. Suppressing thy inner fangirl was not an easy job.

"Now do you think that's polite? Shutting me down like that?"

"I said get outta the way!"

"As if. You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing." Sora and co. readied their weapons. I readied some magic into my hands, though I knew there wouldn't be any more fighting from them for now.

"Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" quacked Donald.

"See, that would work-if I were just any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me."

"Ha! Tough talk for somebody who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkies did the fighting!" This came from Sora. The urge to taunt someone was just irresistible, it seemed.

"Oh, dear. I think you got the wrong impression." Xiggy waggled his finger.

"That's what you get for not making the right impression, old man." He glared at me. I glared at him. Eyepatch measured against eyepatch. Sora broke the silence.

"You gonna cry?" I woulda believed that Sora was enjoying the taunt-your-enemies part of this, except that he had a serious expression on his face.

"As if! Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"

"Remind me?" Sora narrowed his eyes and shifted into his fighting stance. At this, Xigbar let out another set of empty laughs. Not as impressive as Vexen's and Zexion's had been, but Demyx could still learn from this guy.

"That's RIGHT, he used to give me that exact same look." I couldn't tell whether he was alluding to Roxas or Ventus.

"Drowning someone's goldfish _is_ a serious crime", I said under my breath. I hoped Number II didn't hear that after I realized what I had said. Sora didn't leave much time to dwell on it.

"I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!"

"Gee...I just don't know." Everyone shifted into a stance. During the silence, Xigbar spared me a glance. I shivered, my internal grin dying down. Whatever that look had meant, it probably wasn't good news. Then he straightened. "Be a good boy now!" And he left.

"Wait!" Donald bounded up to the spot where Xigbar had once stood and fell. "Nuts! He got away."

"That was weird. WHO gave him the same look?" I would have answered, but I couldn't without drawing any suspicion to me. So I shrugged my shoulders in an I-don't-know gesture.

"Y'know, I think he was just trying to confuse ya." Goofy tried.

"Yeah, you're right. Only one me!" Oh, how wrong he was. And he wouldn't figure it put until the end, where Riku and Kairi had had to drop him hints. Leon finally showed up ("Took you long enough", I muttered) as Sora took out his membership card and held it up.

"The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member-", he read. The card began to glow as it rose up into the air. A keyhole. I knew he was going to leave soon.

"What's this?" Leon was eyeing the glowing card curiously.

"Gawrsh, ya think...?" We watched the light show as Sora unlocked more pathways into different worlds.

"Oh...now I get it. That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about." He turned to me and Leon. "Sorry to run, Leon, Rien, but othe worlds are calling!"

"Organization XIII...", Leon trailed, crossing his arms, "they look tough. Be careful out there." They nodded.

"See you soon." I smiled and waved. Leon wasn't doing the same, so I stepped on his foot. Leon then smiled and waved. And they left.

Unbeknownst to us, a figure had been watching from the shadows. "Sora..."

Ssss~lll~zzzZ

As soon as we stepped into Merlin's house to report, Aerith turned and took notice of the sorry state our hair was in. With a menacing gleam in her eyes, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the hairbrush as she slowly advanced towards us. Leon and I nervously looked at each other, seemingly in mutual agreement. We both took a step back as Aerith said sweetly, "Oh, my. We can't have you guys walking around with hair like that, can we?"

Ssss~lll~zzzZ

Somewhere out there, Sora winced. He wasn't sure where it had come from, but he couldn't help but feel that something was happening to the friends he had just left. Deciding it was nothing, he then shrugged it off and continued doing what he was doing.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Yes, I'm back. School can be a pain. Also, I'll be adding things to this story that haven't really been explained in canon, as long as they don't actually contradict canon.

This is somewhat of a filler chapter.

Disclaimer: I think you all know how this goes. So just pretend that I stick these in every chapter; typing them up is too much of a hassle.

**Chapter 5**

It had been a day since Sora left. Since he had ditched me and Leon to suffer Aerith's wrath. Now, he was probably enjoying himself in the Land of Dragons or something. I had vowed to bestow my vengeance on him the next time he came. Moving on, my hair wasn't as messy as had been last time, but it still wasn't worth getting mauled through with a hairbrush. I was seriously considering therapy. On the plus side, my eye was nearly done healing, so the eyepatch would come off soon. I would then keep the eyepatch just to spite Xigbar the next time he showed up. The messy black tresses of my hair had been cut, so now it somewhat resembled Yuna's (from Final Fantasy X) hairstyle. Not that the worlds of Final Fantasy really existed in the Kingdom Hearts Universe. Guess Nomura hadn't wanted to incorporate Jenova or the paradox thing from the Final Fantasy XIII series into this.

Currently, I was on the run from Yuffie. Things got boring quickly. Even the heartless seemed to have retreated. So of course, I had to spice things up until the next time something happened. I needed something to practice my magic on, anyway. This time, I had made the (unwise) decision to booby-trap her bathroom with a Mine Square spell. She had conveniently been bathing when I had set the trap. Knowing that Merlin wouldn't misuse his abilities and that I was the only one who specialized in attack magic, Yuffie had immediately known who the culprit was, but not before receiving a nasty shock.

"RIEEEENNNN!" I cursed under my breath and ran. She really was fast. The way I was hopping over garbage cans and leaping over fences into hidey-holes (Hollow Bastion had so, so many of these) would have made Lea and Isa jealous, maybe. I was a total fangirl with Isa. He just didn't get enough love; and his nobody, Saïx, was one of the most unliked characters on the Organization. He still had a fairly-sized fanbase, though.

Footsteps sounded from above me. Damn. I was so screwed. I had improved on my hand-to-hand combat, but I was still nowhere near Yuffie's level. Like a Squishy Wizard, I thought. Good at magic, but bad physical-wise. Like Aqua had been at the start of Birth by Sleep. On the bright side, I had at least gotten better at controlling my Thunder spells. I could temporarily stun her if she tried to take a swing at me with her oversized shuriken (she most likely would). The chunk of debris that I was taking shelter under shook, dust falling from above. I sprung up and took off before she could see me. Luckily, I saw a chance for survival in front of me.

"LEOOONNN! Save me!" I ducked behind him as Yuffie sent a flying kick my way. Yuffie swerved off to the side as she neared us. Leon's eye twitched. I grinned sheepishly. As soon as Yuffie recovered, she came marching towards me, shuriken in hand.

Her hair still dripping small droplets of water, she shook her weapon at me as she screamed, "YOU. YOU SHALL NOT EVADE THE GREAT NINJA'S RETRIBUTION!" I grabbed Leon and pulled him in front of me. A vein on his forehead twitched this time.

"I am not a meat shield, Rien." Too bad for him. He was going to be my meat shield, no matter what. To send my point across, I zapped him with a pathetic Thunder. Larxene-style. His hair poofed up, static coursing through it. Oops. Hadn't meant to do that. His face slowly morphed into a look of horror as a realization dawned upon him. Aerith. Because of me, he would have to survive the Hairbrush. Again. I shivered as the murderous aura filled the air. As if Yuffie hadn't been contributing enough to it.

"Errmmm...uhhh...gotta bounce!"

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

Panting, I rounded a corner in an alleyway. I had been running for quite a while now; I would've never been able to run for this long and this fast back at home. The top runners at my school would've been envious. I then stopped to catch my breath. Never. Never again would I rig anything of Yuffie's. Leon had been unwittingly dragged into this, and now I had to face his wrath, too.

"GET BACK HERE AND FACE YOUR RIGHTFUL PUNISHMENT!" Yuffie. Straightening up, I took off again and skidded to a stop when I saw what lied ahead of me. A wall. Sugar-Honey-Ice-Tea. I had trapped myself in a dead-end. Their footsteps grew louder as they closed in on me. Looking around, I quickly scouted the area for any possible escape routes. None. I couldn't propel myself upwards without making myself an easy target for Leon's gunblade. Backtracking would be like suicide. I was ready to accept my fate, until the signature _whoosh_ of a Dark Corridor opened behind me. Not thinking of what lay behind the portal, I rushed in. Anything to escape the combined wrath of Leon and Yuffie. A startled gasp was heard as I bumped into someone, and my vision went black.

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

The world came into focus as I groaned, rubbing my temple. Guess running straight into a Dark Corridor hadn't been the smartest choice. I still had a heart that could be contaminated by the darkness, after all. No way in heck would I ever allow myself to turn into a Heartless. The person next to me shifted. I took a closer look. I contained a gasp when I realized who it was. No. No. Freaking. Way. It was_ Riku_. Clad in the black coat of the Organization, looking like Xehanort's heartless. I wasn't going to call it 'Ansem' anytime soon. Ansem the Wise didn't need his reputation ruined any further; his actions under the name 'DiZ' already did that. Of course, Riku's hood was up so I couldn't let him know that I already knew his identity. He then took his hood off, and wrapped a blindfold around his eyes. I watched as his appearance changed back to his original look, wisps of darkness rising up from his body. Pretending to look clueless as to how that happened, I raised an eyebrow. Riku sent me what must have been a questioning look.

"It's not everyday I witness someone completely changing their appearance with an accessory." He shrugged.

"It's not everyday someone barrels into me in a Dark Corridor." Clearly, he didn't care what he was saying to me. For what reasons, I didn't know. "Don't look so surprised. I was watching when you and Sora faced off against the Nobodies. You seem reliable." Oh. That explained it. My inner fangirl squealed at the phrase, _you seem reliable._ A grin spread across my face as I processed what he just said.

"You want something, don't you..."

"...A favor."

"What?"

"From the goodness in your heart." My sarcasm-detector went off. I raised my eyebrow again. He sighed.

"I'm Riku. And I need you to help me with something."

"Does this, by any chance, have anything to do with Sora?"

"Maybe." I smirked, triumphant. Of course he'd do anything to help Sora. But right now, he wanted to stay incognito. Riku lent a hand toward me. He was offering me to take this chance. I really wanted to take it, but I wasn't sure how I would explain this to Cid and the others. Then, two voices came drifting into my ears.

"Where is she? I could've sworn she was in that alley...ugh, my retribution still has yet to be served!"

"Hmph. We'll get her next time...wait, did you hear that?" The two looked towards the spot where Riku and I were hiding. I glanced at Riku. He had kicked a pebble. Damn, he sure played dirty. Now I had to take his hand if I didn't want to face Yuffie's 'retribution' (which would definitely involve her weapon stash). Glaring at him, I took his hand and he portalled us out.

"Gahh! She avoids us yet again!"

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

Twilight Town. It was here where we materialized. Was he taking me to DiZ?

"Follow me. I didn't go through all that trouble just for you to get lost." The smirk in his voice was audible. I was sorely tempted to set his fine, silver locks of hair on fire. Wait. How come his hair was better than mine? How come Lord Mansex had better hair than both of us? Why did almost every guy have awesome hair? It wasn't fair. Riku must've heard my grumblings, as his smirk stretched even wider. I scowled at him as we walked to the Mansion.

"Dude looks like a lady", I said. That line had been reserved for Marluxia, but I didn't care about that right now. That smirk of his was quickly taken care of. It was his turn to scowl at me.

"Lady looks like a dude." Not exactly the snappiest comeback, but, ohh, he was so, totally asking for it.

"Bring it on, _Missy_."

"Sure thing, _Pirate-Wannabe_." My eye twitched. He was definitely bringing this upon himself.

"Fira!"

**Sss~lll~zzzZ**

Riku and I walked into the mansion, where Ansem (DiZ, whatever) was waiting. He gave us a look of curiousity when he saw us. The tips of Riku's hair had been singed (courtesy of me), and the left side of my hair stood up on end, bristling with static. At least Aerith wasn't here to see it. Just thinking about it caused an involuntary shudder to run through me.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..." This is what we call an 'Awkward Silence', folks.

"..."

"...I concede. The two of you can settle this matter later. You may call me DiZ. Girl, do you know why Riku brought you here?"

"You tell me. And I have a name, you know. It's Rien." Riku then spoke up.

"I brought you here, as I said, to do us a favor."

"And what exactly is that 'favor'?"

Ansem/DiZ gave a small groan. The fact that me and Riku would not get along was evident.

"You may inform her, Riku. I feel a migraine coming on." Woah. I never knew it was possible for DiZ to get migraines. But then again, he was a pretty old dude going through character development. And Riku and I had been exchanging glares at each other, with the lightning bolts shooting out of our eyes and all. Even with the blindfold and eyepatch covering parts of our faces, the animosity was palpable. No wonder DiZ/Ansem had a negative attitude must've gotten to him. His cape _whished_ around in a semicircle as he made his exit.

"Soo..." I sent him mental daggers with my eye.

"...fine. We need your assistance in gathering parts for a prototype DiZ is making." Ahh. So this was what this was about. Ansem needed materials to build that machine which ruined the fake Kingdom Hearts in the World that Never Was. Maybe I would get to tag along for the final confrontation against the remaining Orgy members. Not taking Dream Drop Distance into account, of course. I had to have the last word against Old Xiggy.

"Where do we start?"

A/N: I hope I used some words right. My brain cells are, like, throwing a rebellion against me.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: ugh, sorry for this late update. I had to retype this chapter from scratch at least 3 times, and, school hasn't exactly been helping. I finally understood what it means to have writer's block, too. Don't be expecting quick updates anytime soon. But don't worry, I _will_ finish this story...eventually. Thanks to those of you who faved/followed this, btw. It's a great help. :)

Insert Disclaimer here.

**Chapter 6**

An arrow whizzed over our heads. Riku hissed at me, "Are you trying to get us caught?"

I hissed back, "Wouldn't we have been caught already if I were?" Another arrow came flying over us, this time with fire dancing along the tips. Flaming arrows were one of the last thing I would ever want to be shot with. Moments like these made me wonder if leaving the Restoration Committee back in Hollow Bastion was worth all this. But then again, the combined wrath if Yuffie and Leon would have been just as bad...I winced. It's not like I really had a choice (no thanks to you, Riku). The crew was probably blowing a gasket (and I mean that the bad way) over me. I shuddered, thinking of all the possible things they most likely do to me upon my return... that is,_ if_ I came back alive in one piece. An explosion sounded off from somewhere behind us. Cursing, Riku and I hurriedly scooted off as quiclkly and stealthily as possible to a safer place to hide. Not gettting blown into tiny little smithereens was currently in both of our best interests. Oh, I probably could have just conjured up a magical barrier, but that would've helped the enemy pinpoint our location. My barriers were always accompanied by a brief light show, much to my chagrin. I got headaches just by watching it, and I feared that it was a potential seizure-inducer. Well, it would be okay if an opponent got a seizure. Maybe. As impractical as it was, it was only good when the enemy already knew my location. Right now, the enemy didn't. Riku was adamant about staying undetected, and sadly, I had to go along with it. I would have preferred to just storm in, weapons blazing, but even I could see that Riku's way made more logical sense.

As of now, we were in the Land of Dragons, searching for materials DiZ needed to build that device of his. I was pretty darn sure that this hadn't been featured in the games, but, heck with it. Go with the flow, I say. In this world, we were looking for silver. Unfortunately, silver did not just pop up randomly in treasure chests or anything like that. Heartless also sometimes dropped it for us, but the amount we had collected so far wasn't enough, in Riku's opinion. So, we had resorted to stealing from Shan-Yu's mountain base after seeing the heaps of treasures his thugs carted in. Shan-Yu was a bad guy, so stealing from him would be like a double-negative and would therefore NOT be considered a bad deed...right? My morals were slowly being screwed over.

"How were we gonna do this again?" I asked him. The self-appointed leader of our 'operation'. Riku sent what I supposed was a withering glare at me.

"Are you being this troublesome on purpose? We could have finished by now if you would just _cooperate_."

"I _am_ cooperating, O Wise One. It's not exactly my fault the guards are excessively paranoid today!"

"Well, maybe if you just-" _Boom_. The wall we had been hanging around behind shattered, leaving us out in the open, visible to all the guards.

"Strangers! Get them!" Some drew their bows, others charged forward. Looks like we were doing things my way. Noticing my self-satisfaction, Riku sent me what must've been another glare before summoning his Way to the Dawn keyblade and taking a fighting stance. I drew out some magic, and readied it.

"Blizzard!" I froze one to the ground, allowing Riku to finish him off. Gathering a fair-sized amount of magic on my feet, I pushed off and dashed to the rest. They didn't see it coming. I delivered a chop to the neck of the first thug I reached, effectively knocking him out. Huh. My combat skills seemed to have gotten better, if only a little. When I had asked Merlin about the whole "increasing-strength-with-magic" thing, the answer had been a negative. Apparently, the muscles we had were only strong enough for brief, temporary bursts of energy in the hands and feet. Infusing them with magical energy for even a second longer for an increase in strength was too much for the muscles to handle. Doing so would result in a rapid muscle detoriation. My dreams of punching holes in the ground had ended right there. Leaving the first thug on the ground, I distanced myself from the rest and quickly cast a Mine Square spell. Those who charged me were in for a nasty shock. Luckily for me, it seemed that the concept of magic was foreign to them. The idiots ran right into the mines and were instantly sent flying, knocked out cold. I took note of how they all stashed metal weaponry under their outfits. Lightning magic or a Magnet spell would do the trick, I figured. Setting up another Mine Square around me, I took the time to come up with some plan and see how Riku was faring.

I had to admit, Riku was pretty good. Check that, really good. Keyblade in hand, he jumped right into the fray. Thugs left and right were thrown down, most left unconscious. He was deadly with his skill; he wielded Way to the Dawn like a katana. I was not going to allow him to show me up, I then decided. Turning towards a group of hostiles, I cast a Magnet spell. Sure enough, their weapons all came flying to the small point high above me where my energy was focused. The amount of weapons they had hidden was just, Woah. It was enough to make someone like Yuffie green with envy. I would have to bring back some spoils of war later for Yuffie I ever wanted to appease her. Looking back at the thugs, I almost lost my focus. Their expressions of shock and wonder was priceless. I quickly regained my concentration, for I was going to need it if I wanted my next move to work. As my Magnet spell faded, I spun around in a circle, steadily saturating the air surrounding me with energy. When the multiple blades descended down on me, I released my magical hold on the air around me. "Aeroga!"

It worked. Whether it had been my strong desire to upstage Riku or my proficiency in magic, I didn't know. The whirlwind that resulted from my outburst of energy sent the weapons flying outwards. Some hit their marks and felled the enemy, while other thunked into the ground. Frightened by my display of power (or at least, I hoped it was me they were running from), the thugs scattered and retreated back into their base. Satisfied, I crossed my arms, flashing a smug smirk at Riku, who was grumbling. Sadly, the happy mood didn't last long and everything went back to being serious.

"We need to take this opening and get inside now. I don't want to stay here any longer then we have to." He was right. Killjoy. I didn't voice my complaints and nodded, following him. Riku then added in a lower voice, "Show-off." Something then flashed across my mind. A random tidbit of information from Mission Mode in 358/2 Days. In Mission Mode, the stats of each of the individual members of the Organization and a few other bonus characters were shown in increments of 10. Riku, who was one of those bonus characters, only had a 3/10 in the magic department. Even Roxas was better at it. If Riku had faced Zexion in Castle Oblivion with just magic, he would've immediately lost.

"Coming from Mister-Keyblade-Dark-Firaga-Man, yeah, seems legit." Oops. I wasn't supposed to know about his dark fireballs. The comment didn't seem to have fazed him, thankfully. He must've used one in the fight and assumed I saw it.

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

Shan-Yu's base was ridiculously complicated. He had guards posted everywhere. Talk about paranoid. There were guards standing at alnost every turn, and the place was like a maze.

I grumbled, after taking out a thug, "Don't you have some kind of silver-detector thing? It would be really helpful right now, you know?" Riku fired a variation of my earlier words back at me.

"Wouldn't we be using it if I did?" I followed this with more grumblings. At this rate, my clothes would reek forever of old tunnel. I somehow doubted that Riku's Orgy coat would carry the stench. It wasn't fair. He had a cool outfit and hair any other girl would die for (but then again, so did just about every other member of the Organization). I pondered through all of this as we trudged on.

A left, a right, a fork in the road, another right, a left, straight tunnel. I lost track of which way we went. We both knew that we were lost. The only real reassurance I had was that Riku could Corridor us out if we got stuck. He had his hood up, like always. After what seemed like forever, we finally, finally, _finally_ made it to a room that looked promising. Excited to get this operation done with, I rushed on ahead, despite Riku's protests about being careful and stealthy and whatnot. I just wanted to get the heck out of here. The stench of these tunnels was already seeping into my clothes. Ew.

Sure enough, the room had what I sincerely hoped was the silver we were looking for. I stopped for a second, back facing towards the entryway, to take a look. Yuffie and Leon would need a peace offering when/if I returned. Big mistake. I hadn't noticed the pair of guards hanging around the entrance. Everyone knew that you should never,_ ever_ expose your back to the enemy. It was a basic combat fundamental. Blades drawn, they came at me from behind, aiming to hack me into pieces. I gave an undignified, startled scream.

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

Riku sighed. Sometimes, he regretted ever bringing the girl (Rien, she insisted) with him. She had looked trustworthy enough at Hollow Bastion, but as frustrating as she was to deal with, something struck him as odd about her. Rien almost never took anything too seriously. Even when the Organization had shown up for what should have been the first time for her, she hadn't shown any trace of fear; almost like she found the whole situation amusing, really. It was like she knew what everything was up to. If Rien kept this up, his already-silver hair would...was it possible for it to get any grayer? Maybe it would all fall out...no, he wouldn't think like that. Too late. A mental image of a bald version of himself surfaced in his mind, forcing a shudder. Riku could already imagine the look on Sora and Kairi's faces if they saw him bald, and shuddered again. But, he would first have to rid his heart of Ansem's shadow. There was no way he could allow Sora to see him like this. He also had to admit that Rien's skill with magic exceeded his; the only spell he was really proficient with was his trademark Dark Firaga. She had even went out of her way to rub it in his face with that Aeroga spell. Sora was the only thread connecting him to sanity when it came to Rien.

Although Riku had no interest in DiZ's vengeance against his former apprentices, he had agreed to help to pass the time, keep an eye on Sora, and maybe, just maybe, the result would free him of the darkness lingering in his heart. The sound of Rien's footsteps interrupted his reverie. She was already rushing into a room.

"Hey! Slow down! There could be guards around!" His words fell on deaf ears. Riku supposed he could sort of understand where this energy was coming from. They had been wandering around the base for a long time, and he was just as eager to get the material and leave. "Hey!" His pace quickened. The girl would wind up getting them both killed. _Why...out of everyone I could have picked..._

A surprised shriek echoed throughout the halls. He cursed (Riku made a mental note to keep her away from Sora if they all ever came together-his cursing would corrupt Sora's innocence), summoned Way to the Dawn, and dashed. A pair of guards were charging a frozen Rien as she turned, face set in shock, blades ready to slice. _I told you so...idiot. _Adding a burst of speed, Riku brought his keyblade down upon the first man and used the momentum from the swing to land a roundhouse kick on the other. Both fell, defeated. Levelling an annoyed glare at her, he said, "I told you so."

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

I looked at my savior. "I told you so," said Riku, with a look of annoyance written on his face. Of course. I dusted the imaginary dust off from my jacket (I had to retain _some_ dignity), and gave him a sheepish grin. "Oops?"

He sighed, allowing Way to the Dawn to go back to wherever it came it from. A quick search of the chamber revealed a sufficient chunk of silver ore. Holding onto the material in one arm and grabbing my arm with the other, he Corridored us out.

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

Instead of materializing straight into the mansion in Twilight Town, I found myself overlooking a camp in the Land of Dragons. I frowned.

"What're we still here for? In case you haven't noticed, I am in dire need of a shower." Looking down, I saw why. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan. That question didn't need to be answered anymore. "Nevermind..."

"...Just checking. Let's go." Riku then portalled us out again, this time headed for Twilight Town.

**Ssss~lll~zzzZ**

A cloaked figure stood in the distance. One eye surveyed the area, checking up on the Keyblade Hero. "Nah...still ten years too early for a keyblade..." He was about to leave, until something in the corner of his peripheral vision caught his attention. The Impostor, with the strange girl who had accompanied Sora in Hollow Bastion. His eye narrowed. Something about the girl intrigued both him and the Superior. _Maybe that's why you all felt the need to eliminate him_, she had said, emphasizing the word _him_. That statement had rung a bell. Opening a Corridor, he walked into it, preparing a report for Xemnas.

A/N: I feel like this chapter sucked. Oh well. I also feel like the 'humor' part of this story isn't really that good...maybe I'll do a rewrite in the distant future. XD

I'm relying on walkthroughs and the wiki for info on KH2 (I only have 358/2 Days, Chain of Memories, and Birth by Sleep), so some things could be off. Drop a review!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I realize how late this update is. I'm so, so, sooo sorry. In my defense, though, most of my time was spent on typing up essays and stuff. I swear, school is reveling in our pain. I've decided that this story is mainly going to follow canon; I don't have the time to go through all the playthroughs for the details.

And. D23 Expo. KHIII. Mind=blown. KH 2.5 Remix. My life is complete.

Insert disclaimer here.

**Chapter 7**

Ouch. I winced, pulling a thorn out of my finger. Riku, being the only one wearing gloves, paid me no heed. This time, we were at Beast's Castle. I already didn't like this place; did thorns really have to grow on almost EVERY single plant here? I would've thought that someplace like Enchanted Dominion would have all the little spikes. We were here for the gold. I wondered why Ansem couldn't just get up and get his materials himself. It's not like he was handicapped or anything.

Now, for those of you thinking something along the lines of, _it's a freaking royal castle. There's no way you won't find anything of use in there_, allow me to correct you. First of all, getting in the castle was a matter to be dealt with. Unfortunately for us, Beast was particularly paranoid at this time (no doubt it was Xaldin's doing) and locked every single door, closed every single window, and even blocked up the secret entrance in the courtyard. Riku wouldn't use his Keyblade, either. Something to do with the flashy light show that came with unlocking things. Dammit, Xaldin. You had one job.

"Riku! Can't we just Corridor in?" Wish I could open one. Life would be so much easier.

"No! There could be residents wandering around! What if we portalled right in front of one? What if it's _Sora_?" He had a point. Couldn't he just use his scent-detector powers like he did in Chain of Memories? I wasn't sure whether he retained that power or not.

"Don't you have some kind of people-detector thing of darkness power? You have to have one, come on!" Real vague, I know.

"It doesn't work like that," came his response. So he still had the ability? I was lost. Maybe he'd lose the power after the World that Never Was arc of the storyline? Hours of my previous life had been spent on Googling for an answer. We kept crawling through the bushes, thorns pricking at whatever patch of unprotected skin they could reach. I really wanted gloves.

Emerging from the brambles, we came into a clearin by the castle. Casting a small Cure for the many cuts I had sustained, I turned to Riku. "Now can we Corridor? Because I will not go through anymore sets of thorns for the sake of being incognito." I shook my arm, where cuts were slowly healing, in front of his face to testify that. He drew back.

"And risk being seen? No way."

"Does it look like I care right now?" I knew it was more dangerous for me to go through a Corridor of Darkness (one reason why I wanted my own Organization coat), but I just wanted to get this done with. "By the time we finally make it in on foot, I'll have bled to death already! Oh, and when I do, I'll haunt you as a ghost-"

"Alright! Fine! But it'll be your fault if we get seen!" Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, a portal opened where his arm was outstretched. I cheered, and ran into it.

A hallway. The same one where that annoying candelabra would clank around in 358/2 Days. I remember, I hated doing "get past a resident without getting spotted" missions. It was the worst with Pete in Agrabah.

"So...to the Beast's room? Or Belle's?" I knew the way to either. No surprise here. I had spent hours completing the Challenge Missions here in my other lifetime. A roar sounds out ("Get out!" I think. Didn't quite catch it), followed by an oily old voice. Mr. Sideburns. Of course. "Uh..Belle's room, it is. Wouldn't wanna get caught up in that", I say. Riku shrugs. We'll leave Sora to deal with this, I guess. "Oh, and see, there are no residents prowling around. Loosen up." He glares at me through his blindfold, and leads the way up the stairs.

The hallways that follow are devoid of anyone. At least, until the door to Belle's room pops open, revealing Sora and friends. Riku grabs me and pulls us back behind a corner before he can see us, however.

"There should be a way into the undercroft around here...somewhere..." Sora trails. He then runs in our direction, Donald and Goofy trailing behind him, towards the only exit out of the area: the stairs.

"Corridor! Now!" I hiss to Riku. Turns out I didn't need to; he had already pulled up a portal to the window at the end of the hall. Sora and friends didn't bat an eye. Safe for now.

"OK. Let's do this." I start towards the door, and throw it open. Seems I forgot that Belle was still in here. At least Riku hadn't been right behind me. Belle would've seen him. She looks at me, startled.

"Oh? Who are you?" Well. There went my incognito cover. I could practically hear Riku's facepalm.

"Ermm...a visitor. See, I kind of got lost in the forest out there..." I can almost see Riku's facepalm now. Never was a smooth liar. Thankfully, she doesn't doubt me.

"If that's the case, rest up and hurry on out. Things here aren't really going pretty well." She must be referring to the Beast's plight.

"Thanks. So...I'll...um...be taking my leave now." I bow swiftly, and take my exit. I've always wanted to do that. Belle looks rather embarrassed, too. Score. I close the door. Riku looks at me with incredulity.

"You're crazy. You know that, right?" I beam at him.

"Nope." I quote Jack Sparrow (or rather, a meme) at him. "Crazy people don't know that they're crazy. I know I'm crazy, therefore, I'm not crazy. Isn't that crazy?" He shakes his head as we power-walk down the stairs.

"...yeah, you're crazy." I whack him. "Hey!"

"So. How old are you?" I was preparing to give him a 'respect your elders' lecture.

"Why do you ask? And no, I'm not interested in-" Another whack.

"I'm just asking. Now answer the question, or have a fireball lobbed at your face!"

"Fine! I'm sixteen. Happy now?" Damn. He's older than me; should've known. Can't exactly use the 'respect your elders' rule on him. My discontentment shows, so I answer.

"For now."

**Ssss~llll~zzzZ**

We're down in the undercroft, digging up any valuables with any trace of gold.

"Found one." I chuck a golden cup at him. With inhumanly fast reflexes, he catches it, and smirks.

"Nice try." I grumble, and go back to my digging. Until a roar sounds throughout the castle (again). Must be coming from the ballroom, so Sora's probably almost done with this place. "And hurry up," Riku adds.

Sifting through the piles of junk, I toss a bracelet at him. This time, it hits, true to its mark. It's my turn to smirk now. "Gotcha." He simply picks it up, and stuffs it into a bag full of other golden stuff. I raise an eyebrow. "That bag...where the heck did you get it?" Riku snorts.

"Your bedroom." I glare at him, preparing a weak glob of fire magic into my hand. "Kidding, found it lying around here...wait, what're you do-" The fireball is launched, where it skims the top of Riku's head before dissipating. "What was that for?!"

"Nothing. Just felt like it," I say, with a singsong voice. "Now, are we done yet?"

"Yes, no thanks to you," he grumbles back, running a hand through his seared scalp. Allowing another smirk to stretch across my face, we climb over the heaps of stuff and into the next room. Beast was probably hanging around the big hallway outside with Belle. He knew it was dangerous for me to travel through Dark Corridors frequently, so unfortunately, we were leaving through the long way around.

The secret passage is exactly how I remember it: green, spacious, and occupied by the occasional pureblood Heartless. Today's "occasional" Heartless was a couple Shadows and Mega-shadows.I ready my magic. "I got this." Riku gives a nod. I leap into the fray, spinning as I unleashed an Aerora spell. With all the shadows airborne, I decided to test out my Thunder magic. "Thunder!"

Nope. Just a couple weak arcs of lightning. Trying again, I envision the air around my hands, growing hotter and hotter, until..."Fira!" A big fireball materializes, and I hurl it at the Mega-shadow. It hits and vaporizes nearby shadows, but the Mega-shadow hisses and sinks into the floor. Great. I hopscotch around its form, until it pops back up. Riku mutters something along the lines of "crazy person", so I hurl another fireball at him. He yelps. Satisfied, I turn back to the Mega-shadow's form on the floor, only to have it jump out on me, sending me staggering backwards onto my butt. I can feel Riku's triumphant grin on me. Glaring at the oversized Heartless, I ready another Fira spell, and fire it. This time, the resulting fireball glows white-hot, in contrast to the bright orange of my previous one. The Mega-shadow doesn't stand a chance, and it fades away. I hear clapping in the background. Picking myself up, I ready another spell to toss at Riku until I realize it isn't Riku at all who was clapping.

"Impressive, girly. Who knew that you would be capable of doing stuff like that?" Eyepatch, check. Jagged scar on face, check. Streaks of silver in a ponytail, check. Pirate-wannabe. I hurl a Fire spell at him, but he simply teleports out of the way. "Now, now. That won't do, won't it?" I look at Riku, but he appears to be struggling to move. "Oh. I warped the space around him. Your Knight in Shining Armor won't be saving you now. Come along like a good girl now, and maybe I won't do anything to you or him." I glare into the leering face of Xigbar.

A/N: As a bonus, I'll add Rien's current stats down here. Yeah, like the stats you can see when selecting a character for Mission Mode in Days. Couldn't help it.

Max HP/Stamina: 3/10

Attack: 2/10

Defense: 2/10

Magic: 6/10

Attack Speed: 6/10

Critical: 3/10

Crit. Bonus: 5/10

Her physical stats aren't really that good, but that's OK. She can always use a Cure on herself. XD


End file.
